The availability of content, including audiovisual content, from a variety of sources is increasing significantly. Such content can include, for example, cable or satellite television shows, video-on-demand or pay-per view television programming services, digitally recorded movies or shows, streaming video and/or audio, downloadable video games or other applications, etc. Audiovisual content can be accessed using many types of devices and systems including, but not limited to, on-air broadcasts, cable systems, satellite systems, the Internet, wireless networks, cell phones, wired or wireless networks, digital video recorders (DVRs), personal computers (PCs), mobile or handheld computing devices, cell phones or personal digital assistants (PDAs).
Certain sources of content can provide “lockout” options that may limit access to content. For example, cable and satellite television services are often accessed through a set-top box (STB) that provides channel selections, video-on-demand options, recording capabilities, recorded programs, etc. STBs may also provide certain “lockout” options. These options can block the display of all content on certain channels or content having a particular rating (PG, R, MA, TV14, TVY, etc.) unless a password is entered. Passwords can be set by a user to prevent access to the specified channels by others unless they know the password. Entry of the password in such lockout systems can be performed, for example, by using a remote control or by pressing buttons on the STB itself. Such conventional lockout systems may only limit or prevent access to certain selected content associated with a particular STB, television set or monitor.
It may be desirable to limit access to various types of content based on different criteria or combinations thereof. For example, parents may not want their children to watch programming containing mature themes and/or they may wish to prevent access to all programs after a certain hour at night. Subscribers to pay-per-view services may wish, for example, to prevent users from ordering programming on specific days and incurring additional charges, and/or to prevent such ordering only by certain individuals. It may also be desirable to limit access to certain content that may be viewed or otherwise obtained from several sources such as various televisions/STBs, websites on the Internet, or DVRs.
Therefore, there may be a need to provide a more robust system and method for controlling access to content obtainable from a variety of sources based on different combinations of criteria.